A blog devoted to Montessori education with a little bit of this and that thrown in.

July 06, 2011

The Next Leg of the Journey

OK.............I realize I have been absent from these here parts for a while. I guess the best way to explain what turned out to be a much longer than expected absence is that I didn't know how to write this post, so I avoided it for a bit, then time just passed, we got busy with family stuff, and here we are about three months later. So.

Wow! I didn't think this would be so hard. What I'm here to tell you tonight is that I am starting a new "leg" of my journey, one that won't directly involve Montessori education. In February of this year, I informed my school that I would not be returning to the classroom in the fall. After years of wanting to and months of agonizing over can we?, my husband and I have decided that I finally get to stay home with my sons and be their homeschool teacher. A very few of you who know me in real life know that this has long been a dream of mine. Many of you loyal readers are homeschooling mamas yourselves, so you know what it's like to have your heart tugging at you to stay home. This fall I will have been a mama for ten years.........a full decade. It doesn't seem possible. Throughout those years, I have yearned to be able to stay home with my sons. While I have dearly loved teaching other children (and hopefully that love and joy have been genuinely reflected here), it is time for me to move on. I am tremendously excited about what the new school year has in store for me. And I've been researching and planning like crazy to get things up and going here at home. To bring in some income, I'll be teaching a few private piano lessons and have recently completed coursework to become a licensed Kindermusik instructor. I'm excited for these new adventures as well. The best part for our family is that now when I have to go to "work", it will be right here in our home, in the studio I've created in our basement.

Words cannot adequately express that absolute gratitude I have towards all of you virtual friends out in cyberspace who have visited me in this little spot over the past three years. I have been so blessed to be able to document what has truly been the highlight of my twenty-year teaching career. I am thankful to the families and children I have had the privilege of serving over the years. I have been blessed to teach with five wonderful teaching assistants as well who have made it a joy to come to work each day. Because of all these changes, I won't be posting over here much at all. However, I hope you'll stop over to visit me once in a while at my studio blog. You can find it at: http://walnuthillstudio.blogspot.com I will also be writing a blog about our homeschooling journey. I felt it would be too confusing to write about that over here, so I have yet another blog set up for that part of our lives. Once I am ready to really start posting and paying attention to that blog, I'll write a quick post over here with the URL so you can stop by.

Again, thanks so much for reading my thoughts these past three years. I am humbled by your kindness in visiting me here. Best wishes to each of you on your own Montessori journeys!!

27 Comments

What a great decision you have made! I am planning to homeschool my 3 children too using the Montessori approach. I also have a child with Down Syndrome and this is what lead me to your blog in the first place! Your thoughts and ideas have been such an inspiration to me and I thank you for taking the time to share them. I can't wait to read your next blog!! I'm sure God will bless you beyond your imagination!!

As a homeschool mom myself, I know how excited you must be as you make plans for this life change. I also am very much looking forward to following you and gleaning more wonderful ideas from you as you transition to being a homeschool teacher. I know you'll love it!

Sad to see you go - but so delighted and happy for you. I started stalking your blog this last year - it has been a help in my homeschooling my boys. It has been filled with great ideas - and I plan to come back to some of your older posts for ideas - ideas that have enriched our education.
Rejoicing for your dream come true!

I totally understand where you're coming from. I wish I could do the same! Hope I can still access your montessori website so I can keep looking up ideas that you have here. Lots of cool stuff and I try to incorporate them as much as I can. Good luck in your new phase!

Will you be homeschooling in a montessori way? Will there be a new blog or will you continue this one? I've loved reading this blog and hope you will continue it in some form, some place. "A blog devoted to Montessori education with a little bit of this and that thrown in." Sounds perfect for a homeschooling mum!

I realize I don't know you, but yet I am still THRILLED for you! I used to be a teacher as well and have been home with my kids for the last 7 years and we also homeschool. So happy you finally get to follow your heart. You won't regret it! I can wait to follow you on your homeschool journey and see what wonderful ideas you come up with for your kiddos. Good luck!

I am SO happy for you and your family!! With the teaching knowledge and experience that you have, you will do WONDERFULLY at home educating your children!!

I home educated our five children for several years and presently maintain a preschool/childcare business in my home. Your teaching strategies and shared curricula have been MOST helpful in my early childhood teaching efforts!!

THANK YOU for so GENEROUSLY sharing with us, your readers and admirers! I appreciate you GREATLY.

May God BLESS you and your family as you BLAZE NEW TRAILS of learning together!!

I wrote this once and missed the security thing at the end, but it is worth coming back again to thank you for sharing your wonderful ideas and instructions with those who used them. I often sent them on to my home schooling daughter...even tho she is also subscribed! Several of your ideas remind me of the years I used the Montessori philosophy as I taught in a public school in Los Angeles 40 plus years ago. I truly enjoyed that time but even more loved staying home with my children. I am so glad that you are now able to do that. Enjoy! It will be another marvelous experience for you and for them! Best Wishes and Thank YOU, again!

Wow! Good for you working so hard to make a desicion that is the best for you family! It takes a strong woman to do that! I cant wait to see your new blog and what you come up with in you school room (which I hop eyou give us a tour of)! From one homeschooling mommy to another, you are going to be great!

I do not have a way with words so it might be hard for me to express everything that I am feeling right now. I was blessed to be able to stay home with my three children for 16 years so I know that tug in your heart to be at home with your own. I am thrilled that you will be able to experience what I was fortunate enough to be able to do so and that you are realizing your dream. On the other hand, I will so miss your postings about your Montessori classroom. Before having children, I was an elementary school teacher for many years. This year I returned to the classroom as a preschool teacher and your blog has been invaluable to me. You have inspired me in ways that you don't even know and this summer I have been waking up each morning before my children so that I could go back to the first post you ever wrote and have been working my way backwards. I'm up to March of 2010; I wanted to make sure that I had not missed anything this school year! I started monthly files to keep track of all the wonderful activities that you shared that I would like to incorporate into my classroom. I laughed when I realized that it was almost everything:-) It has been such a joy reading each post and every morning when I shut down the computer to start our day, I think of how blessed I am to have found you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for inspiring me and for helping me along the path of my first year back in the classroom. I wish you continued joy and may your new adventure prove to be as fulfilling as your many years as a Montessori teacher.

PS Though I will greatly miss your preschool postings, I look forward to keeping in touch by reading your homeschooling blog. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to share with us all. I know that I am a better teacher and person for "knowing" you.

Congratulations and welcome to the bright side. Being a stay at home mummy has been and is a joy not to be missed. Even if is just for a little while. I am still slowly sifting through your blog gleaning all manner of ideas and understandings that support my Montessori studies. Of course, I have been wondering where you are but didn't want to keep asking!!

Thanks so much for all your hard work, the detail, the commitment and the integrity of your site have been highlights for me.